From June 2003 to March 2004, the COMET Program employed a blended learning approach to deliver the first Distance Learning Aviation Course (DLAC1) for National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters in support of professional development. The primary goal of DLAC1 was to improve aviation ceiling and visibility forecasts related to fog and low stratus events. With the success of this course, plans have begun for DLAC2 with a focus on convective issues in aviation forecasting.

DLAC1 was offered entirely at a distance by blending self-paced Web modules with teletraining sessions. Thus, students across the country could actively participate in the course without leaving their offices. Over NWS 450 forecasters have registered for the course and to date, over 300 of them have completed all requirements. Students spent approximately 20 hours completing the seven self-paced Web modules and three teletraining sessions.

In July 2004, COMET released a completely self-paced version of DLAC1 and opened registration to the entire meteorological community. Information from the teletraining sessions was packaged to capture and simulate student interactions. Therefore, new students taking the course can have similar learning experiences to those students who participated in the teletraining sessions.

The course provides comprehensive coverage of ceiling and visibility forecasting topics related to fog and stratus events. Topics addressed by the course include conceptual materials on fog and stratus development, as well as tools for developing aviation forecasts and guidance on how to best tailor forecasts to meet the needs of the diverse group of aviation forecast customers. Case study exercises are used to apply knowledge gained through the modules and simulate interactions with other forecasters previously acquired through teletraining. More information about DLAC1 may be found by visiting our Website (http://meted.ucar.edu/dlac/website/). In addition, a resources page is included to provide a place to access and contribute resources associated with aviation fog and stratus forecasting.

DLAC2 will also blend self-paced Web modules with teletraining and will later be packaged as a solely self-paced course available to the entire community. The main topics addressed will be convective initiation, characteristics, duration, and hazards. The course will also focus on how to write effective aviation products by taking customer needs and impacts into consideration. Delivery of DLAC2 is set to begin in fall 2005.